'Human City' on the Moon in 10 Years? Elon Musk Says SpaceX Is Already Working on It

New Delhi: Tech mogul and billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday said that his firm SpaceX has shifted its main focus to building ​a "self-growing city" on the moon and believes that  it ‌could be achieved within a decade.

What did Musk claim?

Musk in a social media post revealed that SpaceX has shifted its primary focus towards building a human city on the Moon in about 10 years and described the project as faster and achievable than a developed city on Mars, which could take twice as long. 

Taking to X, Elon Musk said, "For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years. The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars."

Did Musk share about launch opportunities?

Explaining about the launch opportunities, Elon Musk said that spacecraft can be launched to the Moon every 10 days, with a journey time of about two days and missions to Mars depend on planetary alignment, which occurs roughly every 26 months and requires a six-month journey.

"It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city," he wrote.

What about Mars project?

Elon Musk said that despite the renewed focus on the Moon, SpaceX would still continue preparing for Mars missions.

He also said that they aim to begin building a Mars city within five to seven years.

"SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster," he concluded.